


Fictober 2020

by AerinM



Category: Fablehaven Series - Brandon Mull
Genre: Brackendra, F/M, Gen, Warrenessa, i'll update tags and ships and relationships as needed, this is for fictober 2020 prompts on tumblr
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:34:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26845207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AerinM/pseuds/AerinM
Summary: A collection of stories/drabbles/ficlets which I will write for the Fictober 2020 prompts from tumblr. Some works will be shippy, some will be angsty, some will be filled with shenanigans.
Relationships: Bracken & Seth Sorenson, Bracken/Kendra Sorenson, Warren Burgess/Vanessa Santoro
Kudos: 20





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> This will be a collection of the Fablehaven works I am writing for Fictober 2020 (prompts from tumblr). I make no promises about how many of the prompts I will use. Any potential ones I write which contain spoilers for Dragonwatch 4 will be posted solely to tumblr under heavy tags and spoiler warnings; I'll upload them to this site beginning in November.
> 
> Fictober 2020 Day 1: No, come back!
> 
> Setting: after the events of Dragonwatch 2.

Her dreams that night were riddled with loss. Clouded with darkness, she chased after her brother and Bracken, who walked away with their backs turned toward her. As she raced in their direction, she passed others who similarly faced away from her, yet they stood eerily still.

It didn’t matter whether the others were moving or not. All Kendra needed was a glance to know who they were.

Lena. Broadhoof. Neil. Rosa. Dougan. Laura. Coulter. Even Gavin and Torina, of all people, among others she had met in the past.

They were all dead.

Seth and Bracken continued to walk away from her, and despite how quickly she ran, Kendra simply couldn’t keep up. Their gait was slow, even slower as time went on, yet the distance between her and them continued to increase. They were diminishing in size. Soon they would disappear from her sight entirely, and she would be left alone in the darkness with only the ghosts of her past to haunt her.

She couldn’t lose those two. Not like this. Not without a fight. She pushed herself harder. Breathing became difficult. Her sides ached.

Bracken and Seth disappeared into the darkness.

The tears she had been holding back spilled out.

“No! Come back!” she cried.

No one came to comfort her.


	2. Day 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fictober 2020 Day 2: That's the easy part.
> 
> Shenanigans. No spoilers for anything. Set some point after the first 5 Fablehaven books, Dragonwatch probably doesn't exist. Your decision.

Seth’s shoes squelched against the muddy ground, his jeans speckled with dried bits of the substance here and there. He was scouting for a rare frog which Bracken had promised was a symbol of good luck in the eyes of all of fairydom, and which the unicorn had also said he’d spotted in the forest at Fablehaven on his way to the house. Apparently he just had to catch it, and he’d supposedly have a string of good luck for the entire following year.

The sound of soft footprints caught Seth’s attention, and the boy turned his head to spot Bracken.

“Have you found it yet?” he asked as he approached.

Seth shook his head. “I haven’t seen it. You said it looks like it’s made of pure gold, right?”

“Mm-hmm. And it’s very small.” Bracken held up his fingers to indicate a space which measured maybe four centimeters. 

That _was_ pretty small. Was he sure he’d be able to find it inside this huge forest?

Why not? It sure beat being bored at home. Besides, _Bracken_ was the one who suggested this particular excursion, and Grandpa had actually _approved_. Seth wasn’t about to waste this opportunity to explore outside. And anyway, if anything bad happened, he had a wicked fast unicorn on his side. (Not that he would actually be needed, of course. Probably.)

They searched for a good couple of hours before Seth caught a glimpse of gold out of the corner of his eye. As quietly and as gently as he could manage, he moved the knee-high foliage and underbrush out of his way and laid eyes upon a tiny, beautifully golden frog.

For one tense moment, he and the frog looked at each other and neither moved. Then the frog leapt, Seth dove to intercept it… and missed, bumping his head against a nearby tree trunk in the process. He rubbed at his head where it ached while he searched the area the frog had disappeared to. 

Bracken was maybe ten yards away. Seth decided to call him over. “Psst. Bracken,” he whispered as loudly as he could.

The unicorn turned around. “Did you find it?”

Seth nodded his head and waved at the unicorn in a motion for him to come closer. Bracken stood up and walked over, and both of them searched the area Seth pointed out.

It took several more minutes for Seth to spot the frog again, and when he did, he breathed as calmly as he could before he lunged forward in order to grab hold of it. He knew he had succeeded when he felt the tiny frog squirming in between his hands. Seth jumped up with an exultant yell, and Bracken laughed and grinned.

“You found it!” he cried.

“I’ve got it!” Seth shouted.

Bracken laughed even more, but in a way which Seth thought was kind of odd. As he looked at his friend, he noticed a twinkle in the unicorn’s eye. “I’m afraid that was the easy part,” he offered as an explanation.

Before Seth could ask what was meant by that comment, he felt his hands being forced apart as the tiny frog grew exponentially in size and weight in only a matter of seconds. He was forced to release it when it became too heavy and awkward to continue to hold onto, and it scampered away with lightning speed as soon as it was back on the ground.

Seth stared after it, gobsmacked, while Bracken laughed mercilessly. 

“My sisters and I used to chase them when we were young children,” he explained. “We were never able to hang onto them for long. Thank you, Seth. This has brought back some very fond memories.”

“But… what just… what about the _good luck?!_ ” Seth asked.

“The legend is true, as far as anyone knows,” Bracken answered while he shrugged his shoulders, a brilliant smile still covering his face. “Perhaps one day you will be the one to find out for sure.”

Seth was still too shocked to come up with a response, which prompted even more laughter from his friend. All he could think of was, well… had he just been punked? By _Bracken?!_


	3. Day 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fictober 2020 Day 5: Unacceptable, try again.
> 
> Some domestic Warrenessa fluff for you all. No spoilers for anything. Dragonwatch probably doesn't exist in this one either.

“What about Chinese? There’s that little Mom and Pop place down the street-“

“No,” Vanessa said.

“Mexican, then? We could go to the restaurant where we first met.” Warren waggled his eyebrows at her.

Vanessa rolled her eyes, but Warren caught a glimpse of a smile on her lips before she pronounced her ruling. “Unacceptable. Try again.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, well… how about sushi?”

“No.”

“Thai?”

“Not in the mood.”

“Italian?”

She seemed to consider that over for a moment, then shook her head. 

Warren grumbled in frustration. “Come on, Vanessa. You’ve gotta give me _something_ to work with here. Does _anything_ sound good to you?”

Vanessa tilted her head to the side, then said, “Ice cream.”

“Great,” Warren replied as he rubbed his hands together. “Fortescue’s downtown is a great little parlor-“

“For _dessert_ , Warren,” she stated. “Not _dinner_.”

He sent her what he hoped was his best deadpan expression and she sighed.

“Let’s have steak,” Vanessa sighed as though she’d given up. “Joe’s Grill is good. We’ve been there before.”

“...Well now I want ice cream for dinner.”

“That’s not _dinner_ _food_.”

“Who says? I’m an adult. I can eat ice cream for dinner if I want to.”

She rubbed her temples. “Ice cream is _dessert_.”

“You’re the one who suggested it.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“We’re not having ice cream for dinner.”

“Mint chocolate chip. _Think about it_ . The minty-ness and those little bits of chocolatey goodness.” He perked up even more as another idea hit him. “Or that sea salt caramel one you love so much. The one with bits of toffee in it? You can get it with whipped cream on top. _Think about it_.”

Vanessa was quiet for a while, and Warren knew to just let her mull over the idea without further probing if he wanted to have a chance at getting his way. He waited patiently for his answer.

She rolled her eyes again and sighed. “Fine,” she relented. “But just this once. And you’re taking me out for real food afterward if I want it.”

He grinned and bowed, then offered his hand to her. “Of course, milady. Whatever you desire.”

“You’re so weird.”


	4. Day 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Potential Dragonwatch 4 spoilers. Where my mind immediately went upon hearing of Prince Doriano.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fictober 2020 day 6 prompt: "That was impressive."
> 
> POTENTIAL DRAGONWATCH 4 SPOILERS AHEAD.
> 
> YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
> 
> (I don't personally think it's anything really spoilerific, but maybe refrain from reading if you haven't read Champion of the Titan Games yet.)

“Tell me, Kendra. How did it feel to wear the crown of the Fairy Queen?” Ronodin leaned his head against one of his hands and peered at her with the same distantly interested look he often tended to give her.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” Kendra cooly replied. Her patience with him was growing thin. How much longer did she have to put up with this infuriating, evil unicorn? At what point was she allowed to politely slip away? Curse societal convention! The fact that she kept running into him in moments when she couldn’t just outright scream at him was fraying her nerves.

“I admit, that _was_ impressive,” Ronodin said. “Not as impressive as some things I have witnessed in my time, but still. Very clever, Kendra. I understand why people tend to be so very _enamored_ of you.”

She did her best to kill him with her glare. He simply chuckled and placed his drink down on the tabletop nearest to him. And then he did something Kendra didn’t think she could ever forgive him for.

He held his hand out to her and said, “Would you care to dance?”

Kendra glanced around the room and saw many eyes looking in their direction. She was in the care of the Giant Queen. The Queen and her guests - both large and small - knew Ronodin by a very different name and personality than Kendra did. _She_ knew the truth. _They_ did not.

Unfortunately, _Kendra_ was the new girl in town; she hadn’t done anything to earn the giant’s trust yet, at least not that they knew of or cared about. Ronodin had formed a camaraderie with the Queen and her council. They trusted him. For her to follow through with her desire to punch Ronodin in his stupid face would be for her to invoke the wrath of the Giant Queen upon herself, and she knew better than that.

Societal convention. 

_Play the part, Kendra_ , she told herself. _Pretend you don’t know who he actually is. Play the part and then move on_.

Kendra was sure that the smile which spread across her face looked as forced as it actually was, but she took his hand and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor in silence. Their awkward walk was short-lived, and when Ronodin turned toward her, he leaned in close and whispered, “You don’t have to scream so loudly at me.”

She yanked her hand out of his and he laughed. He’d been listening to her thoughts! How could she have forgotten that he had that ability?!

Laughter continued to gush out of him as he pulled her into a dance without warning. She stumbled over her feet, righted herself, and before she knew it, she was being whisked all over the dance floor. Kendra was passed between several different partners. She was spun and twirled and lifted and everyone moved so quickly that she found she was actually somewhat enjoying herself. If Ronodin hadn’t been there, she might’ve even been having _fun_.

“Ouch, Kendra,” his voice rang in her ears. “That was mean.” She’d managed to wind up back in his arms again.

“Oh, please,” she replied. “Don’t pretend you didn’t know how I feel about you.”

“This _particular_ virtuous maiden has an edge to her,” he crowed. “I’ve never met anyone quite like you before. I can see why my cousin likes you so much.”

“I don’t want to talk to you about-” 

“Sorry, but you’ll have to hold that thought,” he interrupted. “Time to trade partners again.”

The next man she was partnered with didn’t say anything to her. He followed the steps of the dance, which Kendra now had memorized, spun her under his arm, then passed her to another person. She went through three additional partners before winding back up with Ronodin once more.

“Still want to punch my face in, hmm?” he asked. His tone of voice held a lilt of teasing in it.

“More than anything,” she replied as sweetly as she could.

“I’m really not as bad as you think I am.”

“Your actions suggest otherwise.”

He appeared to be thoughtful for a moment. “I wonder, if you _truly_ knew my past, if you would still think that way.”

That struck her as an odd thing to say. Odd and _wrong_. She opened her mouth to ask him to explain himself, but he let go of her hand and bowed to her as the music ceased. 

As suddenly as she’d been swept up into it, the dance had ended.

“Thank you for your company,” Ronodin said as he stood back up. “I’m sure I’ll see you again, although perhaps sooner than you’d prefer.”

Kendra was left standing on the dance floor, staring after him in confusion and what felt like even more frustration than earlier.

_Stupid, evil, cryptic unicorn_ , she thought. _And I didn’t get to punch him in the face_.


End file.
